NHL Finals odds see the Detroit Red Wings up 3-2 in their best of seven Stanley Cup sports betting series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. NHL Finals odds bettors have seen Detroit take the lead thanks in large part to the phenomenal sports betting performance of goaltender Chris Osgood.

Osgood has been the main reason for Detroit’s success against the NHL Finals odds so far and his play has been so good that he is the leading sports betting contender for the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs.

So far against the NHL Finals odds Osgood has gone 3-2 with a 1.81 goals against average. He has a save percentage against the NHL Finals odds versus Pittsburgh of .934. He has one shutout so far against the NHL Finals odds which came Saturday when Detroit beat Pittsburgh by a score of 5-0.

The 36 year old Osgood was not considered to be a leading asset for Detroit against the NHL Finals odds and has never been considered a top shelf goaltender. This year in the regular season Osgood went 26-9-8 with a 3.09 goals against average and a save percentage of .887. But Osgood has seemed to improve with age as last year in the playoffs he was 14-3 with a miniscule 1.55 goals against average while he led Detroit to the title against the NHL Finals odds when they defeated the Penguins in 6 games.

Osgood has been consistent throughout the playoffs this year on Detroit’s road against the NHL Finals odds. Against the Columbus Blue Jackets he had a save percentage of .936. In the 7 game series that followed against the Anaheim Ducks he had a .912 save percentage and a stellar game 7 performance. Against the Chicago Blackhawks in the western conference finals he had a save percentage of .932.

Because of his work the past two years in the post season, there are now those who believe that Osgood will end up in the Hockey Hall of Fame. That was unfathomable not all that long ago but if Detroit wins the Cup this year it’s a near certainty.

Bet on the MLBGamblers might feel compelled to place their baseball bets on San Francisco. Rival evaluators who scouted the Giants’ offensive work during spring training all left thinking the same thing; pitchers from opposing teams will have to dig deep. Similar to the Kansas City Royals of the previous two years, the Giants are not known for striking out too often.